Sexual
Preoccupations
You
looked in a book at the library that said masturbation is
normal. But you're not so sure. At least not like this.
You've done it at least once a day ever since you discovered
you could. When you got married, it didn't take long for
your wife to figure out what was going on. She said she'd
rather have you jerk off in the morning with a magazine
than sleep around with someone else during the day. As long
as you could still get it up when you were with her at night,
things were fine.
Even
when you have intercourse together your mind is elsewhere.
You fantasize about doing it at work, on an airplane, and
in the woods. Recently you've started getting excited about
the idea of letting somebody else watch. You didn't think
that would turn you on until you were interrupted once in
a public restroom. You're not gay, but you've started slipping
into porno theatres where guys can watch you while a video
is playing. The only thing keeping you from pulling it out
in front of a woman is that you might get arrested.
Sometimes
you think it wouldn't be so bad if you got arrested. At
least then you'd have to deal with the problem. You've tried
unsuccessfully to stop on your own. All day long you're
thinking about opportunities. You can't concentrate at work.
Sometimes you slip out of meetings. At the end of the day
you feel bad about having accomplished so little, and the
only way to cheer yourself up is to waste another couple
of hours looking for porno on the Internet. You wish you
were like everyone else and could be satisfied with having
sex with your wife a couple times a week.
This
chapter covers the following topics:
- Sexual
Preoccupations
- Paraphilias
Refer to Distressing Sexual Preferences
- Some
Paraphilias Can Lead to Sexual Offenses
- Homosexual
Desire Is Not a Sign of Mental Illness
- How
Do Atypical Sexual Interests and Behaviors Develop?
- Some
Treatments Exist for Sexual Preoccupations
This
excerpt may not be reproduced without written permission
from the publishers.
Fifty Signs of Mental Illness: A Guide to Understanding
Mental Health
Yale University Press / New Haven and London
Copyright © 2005 by James Whitney Hicks
Return
to Table
of Contents > Previous Topic:
Sexual Performance Problems
> Next Topic: Sleep
Problems
|